Garment hanger



May 27, 1947.

I e, J..KRAFT GARMENT HANGER Filed May 14, "1945 Y (Z. zllfi'afl IN V EN TOR.

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Patented May 27, 1947 FEED STATES PATENT FFICE 1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to garment hangers and while it is designed primarily for supporting trousers, it can also be utilized for hanging skirts.

An object of the invention is to provide a device of this character having garment engaging jaws which are mounted to move away from each other so that if the hanger is contracted and placed in the garment to be supported, the jaws can move apart, when released, thereby engaging. opposed portions of the garment so that it will be stretched and frictionally held.

A further object is to provide a spring in the form of a yoke which can be used not only for moving the jaws apart and holding them in engagement with the garment in which they have been placed, but will also act as a connection between the jaws and a support engaging hook or the like.

A still further object is to provide a hanger the garment engaging portions of which can be arranged in duplicate pairs so that the hanger is thus especially adapted for use in holding the leg portions of trousers.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claim, it being understood that changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.

In the accompanying drawing the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawing Figure 1 is a View partly in front elevation and partly in section showing the'hanger positioned within a trousers leg which is illustrated by broken lines.

Fi ure 2 is a section through one member of the hanger, said section being taken substantially on the line 2--2, Fig. 1.

Figure 3 is a section on line 3--3, Fig. 1.

Referring to the figures by character of reference, l designates a channeled strip constituting a guide which is open at its ends and is bridged by spaced cross pieces 2 integral with the strip. Slidably mounted within the respective end portions of the guide I are shanks 3 preferably rectangular in cross section and formed on each shank at the outer end there is a jaw 4. Each jaw has its outer edge toothed or roughened as indicated at 5, these edges being disposed preferably at right angles to the shanks and being adapted to extend substantially vertically when the hanger is in use. At the upper end of each jaw 4 is a stop finger 6 extending outwardly therebeyond.

The inner end portion of each hank 3 is provided in its bottom corner portion with a notch 1 extended upwardly into the shank and these notches in the two opposed shanks are adapted to receive hooks 8 formed at the lower ends of a spring 9 which can be in the form of a wire yoke. The upper portion of the yoke is loosely mounted in a coupling sleeve H) to which a hook I l or the like is pivotally connected.

In practice it is intended usually to provide two guides each with its pair of shank and jaws and each with its yoke 9 and where two of these are provided both of the yokes are pivotally nected to the sleeve II] as has been shown clearly in Fig. 3.

Under normal conditions each yoke thrusts outwardly against two of the cross pieces 5 at opposite sides of the center of the guide I, and as illustrated in Fig. 1. Therefore, under normal conditions, the two shanks 3 are thru t outwardly with jaw 4 spread apart the maximum distance.

When a garment is to be supported the yoke 9 is contracted. As the hooks 8 and the shanks 3 interfit, this contraction of the yoke will result in the shanks 3 being drawn toward each other and a reduction in the distance between the toothed or active edges or the jaws. With the hanger thus held it is inserted into the garment to be supported. In Fig. 1 the hanger has been shown in the end of a trouser leg L. After the jaws have been lowered until the fingers 8 are brought into the same plane with the edge of the trouser leg, the hanger yoke is released and will act automatically to thrust the shanks 3 apart. Thus the jaws will press against those portions of the trouser leg in the paths thereof and this thrusting action will be limited solely by the fabric of which the garment is formed. Consequently, the fabric will be drawn taut and the jaws will press thereagainst with sufiicient force to keep the garment from slipping from the jaws. The hanger can then be placed in engagement with any suitable support. If two pairs of jaws are provided, each pair being connected to a single guide, both legs of the trousers can be similarly engaged and supported.

If a skirt or the like is to be held by the hanger one pair of jaws can be used in each of a pair of skirts so that two garments can thus be suspended by means of the one hanger.

Obviously the device can be made of any suitable materials. It is cheap to manufacture and very compact. The parts can be assembled easily and will not readily get out of order.

What is claimed is:

A trousers hanger comprising a pair of independent hanger members adapted to be positioned one in each leg of trousers, each of said hanger member comprising a spring wire yoke, a hook, means for connecting the yokes of the hanger members to the hook, said hanger members embodying channel members, aligned relatively movable shanks operating within the channel members and extending beyond the respective ends thereof, said shanks having notches extending upwardly from the inner lower edges thereof, hooks formed at the free ends of the yokes adapted to be extended into the notches, connecting the yokes and shanks, jaws integrally formed at the outer ends of the shanks, and said jaws adapted to be engaged within the trousers legs supporting the trousers.

GEORGE J. KRAFT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 666,235 Osgood Jan. 15, 1901 2,230,301 Kirkegaard Feb. 4, 1941 10 1,467,848 Gibbs et a1 Sept. 11, 1923 779,168 Knight Jan. 3, 1905 2,017,761 Leonard Oct. 15, 1935 FOREIGN PATENTS 15 Number Country Date 567,826 France Dec, 12, 1923 

